The Highwayman
by RinoaLnhrt
Summary: AU. Rinoa is the daughter of the owner of a hotel along a main road. While trying to run away, she meets Squall, a thief who robs from anyone who looks wealthy. Based on the poem and song Highwayman. More detailed summary inside. Please R&R!
1. Prologue

A/N: Okay, so I'm just going to rewrite the story that's already up so that the setting fits better. I'm going to use the normal FF8 setting, and it's still going to be AU of course. For those of you who didn't read it before…Hi! . So, here you go. I'll give you a summary now. Please, if you like it, or if you don't like it, or if you just feel random, leave a review, it makes me want to write more when I read reviews. And, as always, I don't own Final Fantasy or any of its characters, places, buildings, moogles, or chocobos. I do, however, own this plot, and so don't steal it, because it's kind of against the law to plagiarize…Plus it's just mean to do that.

Summary: Rinoa Heartilly is the daughter of the owner of a hotel along a main road between Timber and Deling. Her father used to be very well-to-do and high class, but after the death of her mother when she was a child, he went slightly senile and they lost nearly everything. She doesn't get along with her father at all, and is constantly running away, only to be brought back by former employees of her father, who are only concerned for her well-being and are under his direction to bring her back home. One day while trying to run away, she meets Squall Leonhart; a thief who makes his living traveling along the main roads and taking what he can from people who look like they have money. They slowly become friends, and after a time they fall in love, but what Rinoa doesn't know is that he's one of the most wanted criminals by the Galbadian government. What will she do when she finds out, or will he admit it to her before she finds out another way? Will they both be able to escape from their lives, or will their lives escape them first? Based on the poem (and song…mostly song) Highwayman by Alfred Noyes.

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_Prologue_

Rinoa Heartilly sat in the windowsill of her small bedroom on the second floor of her father's hotel, her lips in a small frown that didn't suit her. Her door was locked in attempt to keep her inside the building, and her father had installed a new (yet crude and bulky) lock on the window. She was as trapped as she felt, and she hated that feeling. She'd always hated it. She needed freedom; she needed to be able to get away from this place where she felt so confined. She'd tried running from her home numerous times. She knew she could survive on her own, and if not, she had a couple of friends she'd gone to private school with who wouldn't hesitate to help her.

As she watched an owl on a branch in a tree outside, she let out a sigh. The most recent time she'd run away had turned into no more than an argument followed by a punishment. She narrowed her eyes in frustration as she thought back to that day...

_A man a few inches taller than Rinoa was very obviously angry. His face was red, and he was glaring at his daughter, who was standing with her arms folded to mark her stubbornness. They were standing in the lobby of the near-empty hotel, and the automatic doors were wide open from Rinoa being so close to them._

_"I won't have a daughter of mine living on the streets!" he shouted._

_"I can take care of myself, Caraway! I'm not a child anymore, I know how to survive!" she yelled back just as loudly, if not, louder. "I never want to see you or hear from you again, and I'm never coming back! I hate you!" She turned and began running out of the hotel, but her father was too quick. He'd walked over and grabbed her arm with a grip so tight it was sure to leave a mark. "LET GO OF ME!" she exclaimed, struggling to get her arm free from his grasp._

_"What have I told you about running away? What have I told you about what could happen to you?" Caraway began dragging Rinoa up the stairs by her arm. In all truth, he was probably just concerned for the wellbeing of his daughter, but he always showed it in the wrong way. Ignoring her shouts to let her go, he inserted the card key to the door of her room and threw her roughly inside as the door slid open. "I will not have my daughter living on the streets as a beggar." he stated, his voice layered with anger. "You are a Caraway!" Rinoa growled and tried shoving past him._

_"I am NOT! My last name is Heartilly!" she said loudly as he shoved her back inside her room, pushing the button to have the door slide close before she could get back up. Before she could react, she heard the small electronic beep that meant the door was locked. She sat there for a moment, fuming, and then took a deep breath to calm herself. She had good control over her emotions most of the time, and wouldn't let her father drive her to tears._

After a few moments, she stood up. She walked over to her writing desk, and took an iron paper weight off of it before returning to the window. She looked from the paper weight in her hands to the lock on her window, determination and resolve shining in her deep brown eyes.

"He can't keep me here forever..." she murmured softly to herself. There was always some hesitant feeling inside her whenever she tried running away. Always the thought of what might happen if she didn't get caught again, always wondering how she actually _would_ survive on her own. But she never spent more than a few seconds thinking about it. Without another thought, she slammed the weight into the lock at an angle she thought would most easily break it. She slammed it again and again, until finally it snapped off. She grinned at her success, and glanced towards her door to make sure there was no light from the hall, not wanting her father to wake up and catch her. She dropped the iron object onto the floor and rushed over to her bed, taking the blankets and sheets off of it. She tied them together, and tied the end of the long blanket rope it had resulted in to the foot of her bed, taking the other end over to the window with her. She opened the window and tossed the rope out, tugging to make sure the knot would hold. She grabbed her favorite and most warm blue coat and hastily put it on, then proceeded to climb down the rope she'd made.

When Rinoa reached the ground below, she smiled, taking a deep breath. She loved how it smelled at night. Some of the flowers in the gardens in front of the hotel only opened at night, filling the darkness with their wonderful fragrance that she'd made drops of perfume from more than once. Taking what she thought (and hoped) might be her last look at the hotel, she turned to the paved road leading through the forest nearby and began to run as fast as she could down it, away from the prison that was called her home.

Two hours later, Rinoa had nearly reached the city of Deling. She smiled when she could see the lights of the city ahead, increasing her pace in her eagerness to reach it. She stopped though, as she could see some familiar people having a conversation. They were some of the city guards, but used to be in the army when her father was the General. She looked around, ducking behind a tree, but it was too late. The sky-blue duster she was wearing under her coat was too bright and gave her away, and they'd spotted her before she could hide.

"Who is that?" one of them demanded. "Show yourself." Rinoa stood there for a moment, wondering if maybe they'd think they were seeing things since it was so late at night. They didn't though, and the person who hadn't spoken walked over towards the tree she was standing behind. She would have run, but she knew they would either chase her or just shoot her if she did. They were trained to keep all suspicious people out of the city, especially at night, and wouldn't hesitate to harm those who they thought were a threat. She looked up at the guard as he half-smiled in recognition and fake innocence. "Rinoa Caraway, what are you doing here? Did you 'run away' again? You know your father doesn't like that." The guard sighed, shaking his head.

"Heartilly." she corrected, narrowing her eyes at the guard. "Not Caraway. Heartilly. I suppose you're going to take me back now?" Her voice held a tone of cold defeat, and she slumped against the tree trunk. The guard seemed to hold a little pity for her, but he nodded.

"It's our jobs on the line if we don't. Your father still has some connections, and if he found out we let you go, he could get us fired." the other guard spoke up, walking over to them. "Come along, Miss Caraway."

And so, as Rinoa grumbled incoherently about how they used to be on her side when they were still in training to be soldiers, one of the guards escorted her back to the hotel while the other stayed to continue to keep watch.

By the time they'd arrived back at the hotel, she'd talked the guard into not telling her father, which she could have hugged him in gratefulness for had she been in a better mood towards him at the moment. She snuck back up to her room, glad that her father was apparently a heavy sleeper that night, and withdrew the blankets from the window and shut it. She would have to try again the next night, she resolved, as it was too late in the night to begin to travel again. She was tired as it was, and the guard would be taking his time going back to the city, and it was the only way she knew how to go to get to her friends' houses. Upon returning to her bed, she jumped a bit in surprise as she saw her father's figure in the doorway. She had been too distracted by her thoughts and vague planning to hear the soft 'whoosh' of the door opening. She was caught, and she knew it. He would think she was on her way to bring the blanket rope to the window, and she braced herself in readiness to be yelled at.

"Rinoa Julia Caraway..." he began, his voice steadily rising and growing angrier."What in Hyne's name do you think you are going to do with that?"

She rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to put up with him, but she wasn't going to yell at him like she had been doing more and more often recently. "Get the hell out of my room, Caraway. I'm tired, and the sight of you might give me nightmares for a week." This remark made her father walk over to her and smack her across the face. She let it happen; knowing all too well the punishment would be worse if she'd stopped his arm. It stung, but she just clenched her jaw. She was too used to it for it to bother her, and again, she would never let her father bring her to tears.

"You ungrateful little..." he didn't finish his sentence, so angry he was trembling."You're not leaving this room for two weeks. I'll weld the window shut myself if I have to. Your door will remain locked. You will do your daily chores, eat one meal, and then return to your room. Do not even _think_ of leaving again, or I will personally see to it that you realize just how lucky you are that you even have such a place to live in." With that, he left, locking the door once again from the outside.

Rinoa blinked, looking down at the blanket and sheets in her hands. She never thought her father would actually go to that length to make sure she wouldn't leave, or to punish her. She shrugged it off after a moment though. She'd get away soon enough. She had a feeling that she would, and this time it was more of an instinct. Her instincts had never before been wrong, no matter how unlikely circumstances seemed. She returned her bed coverings to her mattress, took off her coat and hung it up before changing into a pale blue nightgown, and went to sleep.


	2. The Escape

A/N: This is updated too, enjoy! Again, I don't own the characters, places, buildings, moogles, or chocobos. I do own the plot, so don't steal it, because that would be illegal, irritating, and upsetting. Please remember to review, I love feedback. Flames, of course, will be laughed at.

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_Chapter One: The Escape_

The sun was casting its light unhindered by clouds, warming the atmosphere and ground below to a pleasant late-spring temperature. It was warm enough to have no need of shoes or long sleeves, but cool and breezy enough to be able to stay outside for hours without feeling uncomfortable and sweaty.

Rinoa was kneeling down in front of a flowerbed, a brown woven basket at her side, a quarter full already with the long-stemmed white and blue flowers she was picking. This usually wasn't a part of the chores she did during the day around the hotel, but she needed an excuse to get out of the building, at least for a little while. The past week had been a nightmare to her. While her bedroom window hadn't been welded shut, her door was kept locked from the outside whenever she was in it. She was allowed one meal a day, which usually consisted only of a bread roll and a slice of meat with a glass of water. She was surprised she hadn't ended up feeling faint from hunger, though she did have a few dizzy spells.

With a sigh, she sat up, looking around. It was a little past noon, and so the hotel wasn't too crowded. It did include a bar and restaurant area, but they didn't have much of a meal selection, and it wasn't as convenient to people from the cities to go so far away to eat. She could see through the windows people conversing and occasionally laughing, and she smiled. Though she hated this place with all her heart, she did like it when people could enjoy themselves. She stretched her now stiff neck a little and rubbed it, then bent down again to continue to pick flowers, occasionally pulling out a weed.

Her thoughts traveled back to the few friends she had. She was very close to the three of them. They'd grown up together and had gone to the same schools, and were always there for each other, no questions asked. They'd offered to take her in a few years ago when her father had lost his job, house, and title, and she'd been all set to move in with one of them. But Caraway heard about it and it had resulted in a long yelling match between father and daughter.

_Quistis' offer to take me in would still stand today...She was pretty insistent, now that I remember it._ She thought, yanking at a particularly stubborn weed. _I wonder how she's doing...I haven't heard from anyone in so long. They were happy last time I heard from them though. That's all that matters._ She managed to rip up the large weed, but the force she'd applied in tearing it from the earth made dirt fly up into her face and onto her black top. Brushing it off of herself, she sat back on her heels as a thought came to her.

It was daytime, and she'd never attempted getting away during the day before, thinking it would be better to escape under the cloak of darkness. Her father wouldn't notice for a while yet, and the guards would be distracted inspecting the traveling merchants' carts. Slowly, a small smile spread across her face. She would get away, and never see this forsaken building again.

She stood up, picking the basket of flowers off of the ground and carrying it inside with her. Careful not to catch the eye of any of the customers or her father, she slipped upstairs and into her room at the end of the hall. She set the flowers down on her bed before grabbing the same coat she'd worn the previous night. She folded it over her arm and casually walked back downstairs and out of the inn, acting as though everything was normal so as not to attract attention. She glanced back over her shoulder to make sure her father hadn't spotted her, and was happy to see that he was to busy arguing with a customer over something or other, most likely the price of a drink. She looked forward again, grinning to herself, and trotted contentedly down the stone path towards the road she'd tried running on so many times in the past.

She continued to walk along the paved road that led to Deling, and after an hour or so had passed, she guessed she was about halfway there. She was walking at a leisurely pace, knowing it would take a while for Caraway to notice she was missing, and the weather was such that she didn't feel the need to hurry anywhere, no matter the situation. She still had a small smile on her face, feeling free at last, this time with the strong gut feeling that she would succeed in never having to see her father's 'Rosebud Hotel' again.

Rinoa had never really taken the time to notice how old the forest was, at least this far in. A while back, she'd turned onto a narrower, less-traveled road. It wound deeper through the forest, but it was a shorter path to the city, and she knew she'd have less chance of being seen by anyone who would recognize her, since barely anyone wanted to walk along this road for fear of either being mauled by rabid Funguars or lost Thrustaevises. It did lead to the same entrance as the other road, but it would take her a quicker time to get there. As she walked along it, she wondered why she hadn't thought to take this path a week ago. The trees were thicker and closer together, and everything from the dirt road she walked along to the patches of grass that sprouted among it felt ancient. She soon realized she'd slowed her pace even more to look around, and shook her head a bit as she walked at a brisker pace again. She wanted to get to Deling City before the guards weren't busy with the merchants anymore.

She stopped suddenly as a cracking noise reached her ears. _What was that?_ She thought, looking around cautiously. She turned to her right, peering towards the thick trees that the sound had seemed to come from. The trees cast too much of a shadow to be able to tell if anything was there, but even if they didn't, she didn't have any weapon with her if anything happened to be there. It was rare, but she'd heard rumors that sometimes really strong creatures appeared in this forest, strong enough to kill a person with two swipes. She'd also heard rumors of thieves who hid in the branches, only to drop down and mug anyone careless enough to not defend themselves. All of this unsettled her, not so much the fact that she could get hurt as the fact that if such a thing happened, she'd be unable to reach the city in time. She suddenly felt very alone, and found herself missing her friends.

Backing up a step, she turned back around to continue along the path, but stopped abruptly as she saw the tip of a blade inches away from her face. She recognized the strange weapon, as one of her friends used the same kind but a different model, but she didn't recognize its wielder. The weapon was a sort of wide sword with a gun for a hilt, and was called a gunblade. This one was different from her friend's; it had an elaborate engraving of a lion on the side of the blade, and there was a keychain hanging from the bottom of the gun/hilt. The person holding it would have made her swoon if he didn't look so dangerous at the moment. The man was roughly half a foot taller than her, with messy brown hair falling just above his shoulders and a piercing in one ear. His cold grey-blue eyes were narrowed into a glare, and a scar ran diagonally across the bridge of his nose. Every inch of his muscled body combined with his posture as he held his weapon seemed to say 'well-disciplined soldier', though his clothing certainly was different from any soldier Rinoa had seen.

_Run. Run now._ Rinoa thought, unable to look away from the stranger's threatening eyes. Her feet didn't obey her though, and she found herself speechless for one of the first times in her life.

"...Your gil, or your life." the man spoke, his voice low. The tone in his voice was enough to tell Rinoa that he wasn't joking. Half-panicking, her mind was racing for the right thing to respond with. She didn't have any gil with her, and she was certain that the man wouldn't believe her and kill her anyway.

_I need to say something. What should I say? I need to say something or he'll shoot me. _"U-um..." she stuttered, finding her voice at last. "I...I'm just on my way to the city, let me pass." She said, trying to sound innocent in hopes of dissuading him from hurting her. _Smart._ She thought sarcastically.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" the man said. This time, Rinoa was able to detect some hesitance in the stranger's voice, as if he didn't really like what he had to do. She felt some relief, as there was more of a chance now for her to escape if she spoke carefully enough. She was used to being careful of what she said in order to persuade people, but she'd never had to think under the pressure of having her life threatened.

"Please..." she said softly, taking a small step away from him. She was about to take another step, but froze as she saw his finger move towards the trigger on the gun. "I don't have any gil. Let me pass." The man watched her, not saying anything for a moment. His eyes were somewhat glazed over, as if he was lost in his own world of thought. When he seemed to snap out of his thoughts, he lowered the gunblade a few inches.

"...What reason do I have to believe you?" he asked, not taking his focus off of her. She felt slightly more relieved when he did that, but didn't dare move again.

"I swear, I don't have any gil with me!" Rinoa said loudly, silently begging him to believe her. _Please let him believe this..._ "I have work to do in the city. If you let me pass, I'll come back and give you the money that I make." She didn't feel bad for saying that, as it was half true. She'd find a job to do in Deling, or at least in some other town after she figured out where to go next, and for sparing her life, she'd gladly repay him. She wouldn't be able to do so quickly, but she never broke a promise. Something was telling her that he wasn't as bad at heart as he seemed, and she was now curious about him. Coming back to repay him would let her ask him questions, and perhaps she could figure out the mystery of this man who seemed to have to rob for a living.

The man was still watching her. She tried not to shiver; his gaze feeling like it was penetrating into her very mind, searching for any hint of truth or lie. "...Whatever." he muttered. He swung the gunblade up to prop it onto his shoulder and turned to walk back into the forest. Rinoa stood rooted to the ground in shock, not believing that it had worked.

"W-wait!" she called, forcing her feet to move. She jogged over to him as he stopped and looked back at her. She kept her distance, but wasn't frozen in panic anymore. "What's your name? I need to be able to find you when I come back."

"...Squall." he answered. He turned once again, but didn't walk off. "Don't tell the authorities about where I am. If you do, I will find you." He didn't need to elaborate on what he'd do when he found her; his dark tone was enough. He went back into the forest without another word, and soon disappeared silently among the wilderness.

Rinoa had stared at him as he was walking away from her. He certainly was a mystery, one she intended on solving. She hadn't heard of any sort of criminal randomly letting someone walk away, and she was interested to know why he let her, then by his overall appearance and stance, he had not let many other people walk away from him, if any. Once someone made her curious, she wouldn't let them be until she knew at least something about them. _Don't worry, Squall._ She thought, beginning to walk forward again. _It's not as if I can tell the authorities anything. They'd make me go back, and then I'd never be able to pay you back for not killing me._ She had to try not to giggle at the way she'd phrased that thought. She was in debt to a stranger who wanted to kill her.

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It was sunset, and Rinoa had been wandering around Deling City for a few hours now. It seemed her friend Quistis had moved to a different house, and she had been left walking around asking people if they knew where she lived. It didn't help at all that every time she asked about it, when she went to investigate where their directions had pointed her to, she kept thinking about the thief in the forest.

_Not exactly a thief..._ she corrected herself, walking along a sidewalk and glancing at the houses to her right. _A thief would've automatically attacked me and taken everything. He gave me a choice. Not a friendly choice, but a choice._ She watched the house numbers go by, scanning them for the one she'd been told belonged to Quistis Trepe. _One seventy-six...One seventy-seven...One seventy-eight...Aha! There we go!_ She stopped in front of house number one hundred seventy-nine. It looked similar to the houses surrounding it; somewhere in between medium and large, with two floors and probably an attic and basement. Not fancy, but not shabby-looking either. She grinned slightly when she saw that this house was painted a soft orange-red that matched the glow of the sun setting behind her. That was Quistis' favorite color.

She went up to the door and knocked a few times, mentally preparing herself for how to explain the situation. She wouldn't have to if it were her other two friends, Selphie or Seifer, but Quistis just _had_ to have a reason for everything and an explanation. Her knocks were answered momentarily by a bespectacled woman, her long blonde hair pulled back into a high bun with a few locks framing her face, which now wore a pleasantly surprised expression. Rinoa smiled; her friend hadn't changed much.

"Hi Quistis!" Rinoa said happily, grinning a bit.

"Hey, come in," responded Quistis, moving aside so Rinoa could walk in. She looked around, finding herself in a living room with a couch and two smaller couches on either side surrounding a low table. The largest couch was facing a small television, and there were books scattered across the table. There was a staircase leading upstairs along the side of the wall to her left, and straight ahead after the living room was a kitchen. Quistis shut the door after Rinoa was inside, and smiled. "Why're you here? Not that I'm not happy to see you. It's been so long." She walked over and sat on a couch, motioning for Rinoa to sit.

"Well...Remember a few years ago when you said you'd take me in?" Rinoa started hesitantly, sitting down. "I'm here to take you up on that offer, if it's still alright."

Quistis' eyes narrowed in suspicion. It was odd that Rinoa would want to move in somewhere without bringing her belongings with her, and all she'd brought was a coat. A second later, realization seemed to settle in Quistis' expression. "You ran away, didn't you?" she accused.

Rinoa shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the accusing tone her friend was speaking to her with. "...If you had to call it something, then yes, I did run away. But I won't be staying here for long. The guards here know me, and they know Caraway wants to keep me home, and they think it's 'for my best interests' that I stay at that man's home." She was speaking quickly, trying to explain incase Quistis had changed her mind. She didn't want to let it slip that he was being cruel to her, knowing it would make Quistis' temper rise. Her friends were very protective of each other and herself, and she was protective of them. "I'll find a job, and once I get enough money I'm going to get on a train and find my own place to live." Rinoa had been so involved in how to phrase her explanation that she had missed the amused smile on her friend's face.

"Calm down, it's perfectly fine." Quistis laughed. "I was just asking." Rinoa smiled, relaxing again. Once she saw that Rinoa wasn't going to launch into more explanation, Quistis continued. "I'm on my own now, so my foster parents aren't supporting me. You're going to have to pitch in a little with chores and food, but I'm not going to ask for much." Rinoa could have laughed at this, but just smiled and nodded. She remembered how paranoid about cleanliness Quistis was, and how everything had to be neat and organized.

"Alright. When I get a job, I'll help pay for whatever I can." Rinoa said, but Quistis shook her head.

"It's fine. Come on, I've got an extra room you can stay in." Quistis got up and walked up the stairs, Rinoa following close behind her. The room Quistis led her to was a lot larger than her old room, but not too big. It had a full-sized bed with dark blue blankets, and a small dresser along one wall. There was a closed door on the right wall, which Quistis gestured to after walking inside. "You've got your own bathroom, and it's your own responsibility to keep your room and bathroom clean. Not perfect, but at least not smelly or incredibly messy. I've got some clothes that would probably fit you that you can have, they're in that dresser over there," she gestured over towards the wooden dresser. Rinoa walked into the room, looking around in a bit of wonder. It was so much different than the small, cramped room she was used to. There were large windows along the back wall, and a door leading out onto a small balcony. She grinned, giving her friend a hug.

"Thank you so much Quistis! I promise not to be a bother." Rinoa said gleefully. Quistis smiled and returned the hug.

"It's no problem, really. The least I could do for one of my best friends. Are you hungry? I was just about to make some dinner."

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Later that night, Rinoa was sitting on the floor of the room she'd been allowed to stay in, wearing some spare pajamas that Quistis had let her borrow. She was looking outside through one of the windows, feeling happier than she'd felt in years. She stood up, and as she lay down to go to sleep, she went over in her mind how lucky she was to have such a wonderful friend.

_This is incredible...I'm away from that hotel, away from that man, and staying with one of my best friends. Tomorrow I'll find a job, and when I have enough I'll go and pay that Squall back like I said I would. _At that, she was lost in thought yet again of the man who had threatened her life, accused her of lying, and then spared her in a matter of minutes. _I bet he's not expecting me to pay him back. I wonder why he let me go though, if that's true. Oh well...I'll find out eventually._ She fell asleep, the last thought in her mind being that she would eventually figure out who exactly this 'Squall' was.


	3. Reunion

A/N: ...I'm alive! And as always, reviews rock. Oh, and here's a short note on what I plan to do...I'm going to write a couple of chapters at a time. I'll post this one but I have the next chapter at the time that this is posted, so as I'm working on it I'll always have a chapter that I can post up here. To make that easier to understand...this is chapter 2. At the time that I'm posting it, I have chapter 3 written and am working on chapter 4. When I'm done writing chapter 4, I'll post chapter 3 and work on writing chapter 5, and so on and so forth. Hopefully life won't be complicated and cause delays in the story again, and this will ensure that you'll have chapters to read since I'll always be a chapter ahead. Might not make sense to you, but it'll help me remember to write. And I've rethought how I want the story to go and I've got a nice dramatic plot set up with lots of twists...so even if I took a while to update (due to personal reason), and even if it's going to go slow in the beginning...stay! Keep reading! ^.^

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_Chapter 2: Reunion_

Summer was finally setting in. The days had grown hotter and more humid, and the breeze was usually warm so it did very little to ease the heat wave that was going through the city. The evenings gave immense relief when they set in, and the nights were still chilly at times, but there was no denying that the season was changing again and soon it would be time once again for the city to fill with tourists, while a good portion of the residents vacated the premises for a cooler, more peaceful setting closer to the ocean.

The first of the summer fruits were being imported from places outside of the city where there were more gardens and room for things to grow. Sure there were grocery stores in the city, but when the seasons changed all of the farmers seemed to flock to Deling City to sell their goods. There were stands set up in the big open plaza area across from where the large city gate was, with a crowd mulling about them trying to get their share before it was all gone. Among them was a young lady attempting to push her way through the crowd while not dropping anything out of her cloth shopping bags, and avoiding meeting anyone's eyes.

Rinoa had been living with Quistis quite happily for the past couple of months now. She had folded up and hidden the clothes that she had worn the day that she arrived at Quistis' home, and since then had been borrowing old clothes that Quistis had left in the drawer for her. She had worn no blue, since that was her favorite and there were too many soldiers who would associate blue clothing on someone of her build with Rinoa Heartilly. Today, she favored a forest green ribbed halter with armwarmers of the same hue, and long baggy shorts of a light brown. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail as well, and she had been changing her hairstyle every day in her feeble attempt at disguising herself. She wouldn't have bothered so much with it, but she had seen the 'missing' ads in the paper, and heard the various rumors that had sprouted up about the disappearance of the hotel owner's daughter.

"Excuse me." she murmured as she shoved her way towards the nearest fruit stand. Though she was trying to focus on remembering the types of fruit that Quistis had sent her out for, her mind was elsewhere. The past few months, though joyful and wondrously free, had been marred by the difficulties she now found herself facing. There was not a lot of work available for someone who didn't want to be involved with anyone affiliated with the military. They were in the heart of Galbadia; everyone knew someone who worked in the army. She also couldn't try to find work with anyone who traveled, or knew people who did, because her father's hotel was one most people stopped at on their way to the city.

After one particularly frustrating evening in which Quistis had lectured Rinoa about finding work, Rinoa had gone out on a walk into the forest to clear her mind. She walked and walked, not following the road or even the shortcut path that she had taken to get there, lest she encounter the stranger again. Or even if she didn't encounter him, her mind would have been absorbed into trying to think of who this 'Squall' really was, why he had let her go, and the hesitance she had seen in those cold grey eyes. After aimlessly wandering through the woods for a good portion of time, she had found a small clearing. To her surprise and pleasure, there were flowers growing through it, ones that looked and smelled so familiar to her...the same ones that had grown near the hotel. She had smiled and sat among the flowers for a while, and then a thought ocurred to her as she was reminiscing. She had made perfume out of these flowers before...why not do it again? She had picked an armful of flowers, and got lost three times trying to find her way back to Quistis' house.

They had decided that making perfume would use too many flowers and it would be too long before they could grow more, so instead of using the scent for that she used it for other things. Candles, mainly, and potpourri pouches with the petals and other things in them too. These she sold to people happening to pass by, and though she didn't make or sell many, it was enough to pay for her share of things around the house. This had gone on since just a couple of weeks after moving in with her friend.

Whatever she didn't give to Quistis or use for her own essential needs, she left for Squall. Rinoa smiled a little as she walked away from the fruit stand after buying what she needed, her mind still not on fruit but instead on the brief encounter she had had with that man in the forest, the only time since the first.

_The moon and stars were bright enough to not need another light in the forest outside of Deling City. Along the dirt path that wound through the trees, a coated figure of a woman carried a bag of some sort in her arms. It wasn't too large, about half the size of a basketball, but its contents jingled with every step she took. She stopped about a third of the way between the city and the hotel that was further up the road._

_"I know you're there somewhere." Rinoa said confidently, looking around at the trees. "I read about you in the news too, so if they think you're here, then you have to be." She wouldn't feel afraid...he had spared her life before. "So come out! I have something for you and if you don't come out I'm going to take it back and throw it down a dr-" she stopped talking suddenly as a figure silently emerged from the wilderness._

_"...What do you want?" he said. His short brown hair was mussed, his clothes were dirtier than they had been before, and there were traces of circles under those cold grey eyes of his, but there was no mistaking him. His weapon was hanging at his side, and his jacket was open as though he'd just tossed it on (she supposed he had been sleeping), and she could see some sort of pendant hanging from a chain over his white shirt. So this was the man who had threatened her. She found herself staring and quickly averted her gaze._

_"I...told you that if you let me go, I'd give you what I made in the city." she said, trying once again to meet his gaze._

_"...And?"_

_She held out the bag she had with her. "There's not a lot there..but it's more than I would have had on me if you had killed me before. But you let me go..." She had added that part as an afterthought, as though wondering out loud why he let her. She still intended to find out. Once Rinoa was curious about something, she didn't let it go until she knew all the details._

_"I did." the stranger named Squall answered. He walked forward and took the bag she had been holding out to him, then turned to go. He paused there though, quiet for a moment, and for that moment Rinoa wasn't sure if he was going to speak again or not since he didn't seem like he was really paying attention to the world at the moment. "...Leave whatever else you make here, just off of the path. Don't wake me up again." he said, his tone cold, but...it was a forced sort of cold. Rinoa was good at reading people. He glanced back at her, but then left without waiting for her response._

_"O-okay..." she answered as he walked off, unsure of why he was asking that. All she knew was that she did not want to get too close to that blade of his again, and she would be willing to do a lot to make sure of that._

Why did that memory make her smile? It was so very confusing to her. This man was a stranger to her, and by all means she should be frightened out of her wits by what might happen if she didn't do what he told her to, or if she ever met him on a night when he was in a foul mood. But something about him honestly intrigued her. And so tonight she meant to find him again, to ask him about why he was doing what he was doing, to find out who he was. Maybe she could stop him from hurting people and stealing, if she ever was able to get to know him more. Grinning to herself, she went back to Quistis' house and put the fruit away, chatting with her friend all the while as though nothing in the world was on her mind except the day's events. Her own little way of trying to appear innocent. She hadn't told Quistis about the man she had been giving money to.

"Rinoa.." Quistis called to her after a while of Rinoa's happy chatting.

"...and they were asking for twice the amount that they did yesterday. Twice! I can't be..." Rinoa was continuing.

"Rinoa." Quistis said again, walking into the kitchen.

"...I guess it's because they sell really well. They're so sweet, everyone loves them, I've never met any..."

"_Rinoa!_"

"..Do you think this'll turn out alright? I mean the cobbler I'm making later. I haven't made one in fo..."

"I guess she just doesn't want to say 'hi' right now, Quistis." said a male voice. There was an underlying sarcastic tone to it, but the speaker always had that underlying tone to whatever he said. "And after all that work it took to get here so soon."

Rinoa looked up from where she was in the kicthen and out towards the living room. There stood a man even taller than Quistis was, with short-cropped blonde hair and a smirk on his face. Despite the heat he wore the silver trench coat with the red sword-shaped crosses on the sleeves, the one that had become so familiar to them all over the years. She stared for a second, then a grin appeared on her face as she ran towards Seifer Almasy to give him a hug. "You were gone for forever! I thought you died!" she said in playful dismay. He rolled his eyes with a smile on his face and lightly returned the bear hug he was being given.

"Heyyyy! I'm here too you know!" said a much different voice, one with a very pleasant tone to it and female as well. Rinoa let go of Seifer and turned around to see the ever-short Selphie Tilmitt standing a few feet away. This time she didn't have to run for a hug; both of the girls laughed a bit and hugged after both running at each other.

"It's great to see you too Selphie! I was sure you had moved over to Trabia for good! You always said how you liked the cold weather there." Rinoa said, a broad smile on her face.

"It got too cold! Really! Besides, Quisty said that you were staying here for now and I wanted to see you before you disappered or got locked up somewhere again." Selphie answered. Normally that edge of truth in the last comment would have made Rinoa a little wary and thoughtful of current events, but instead she laughed. These were the three people she had spent her childhood with, had gone to private school with, had shared secrets and stories and just grown up with. And now, after having grown up, they were still as close as they ever were.

After the loud and amusing greetings, the talk generally turned to that of current affairs. Selphie, it seemed, had been living over in Trabia for over a year now. She was working with the younger students of a military academy, mainly teaching them how to keep their emotions in line and not sink into a depression with all the killing they'd have to do in the future. Just not in those blunt terms.

"...And I met someone, on one of my trips to a school here in Galbadia." Selphie said with an embarassed sort of grin. "It turns out he was in our class when we were all still going to school together. He was about to move to Trabia, too, so it worked out really well...he's there now too. He runs a sports program." she finished. Quistis chuckled softly and leaned back into the couch, taking a sip of the nice cold lemonade that they had pulled out to take the edge off of the unusually warm late afternoon. Rinoa stuck her tongue out at Quistis briefly, and Selphie looked confused.

"It's nothing." Rinoa said with a smile. In truth, she and Quistis had had a bet going on since they were very young, trying to figure out which of the three girls would be the first to either be in a very serious relationship or to marry. So every time any of them admitted to caring for someone in that way, it was brought up, but never in front of Selphie since she wasn't in on the bet. It was childish, but they had made it up when they were children, and it gave a sense of nostalgia. "So what have you been up to?" Rinoa asked, looking over at Seifer, who was dozing off on the other end of the couch.

"The usual." he answered, not moving from his relaxed position. "Still learning how to kill things. Still being sent out to kill things. Still haven't been raised up to any level of command." Though he sounded his usual self, Rinoa knew that that was something he was touchy about. Ever since she could remember, Seifer had always wanted to be the leader of everything. But whenever he was given the opportunity, even just in games, he took too much advantage of it and got too excited that he was in charge, and proceeded to make rash decisions that had bad outcomes. It hadn't changed. He was now a member of something that wasn't quite an army, but still a military. A special forces unit trained to handle a variety of situations, and could be hired by anyone for anything within reason.

As Rinoa reflected on that, Selphie and Quistis were poking fun at Seifer in their own ways about his low position in the special military. Rinoa leaned back in her seat and watched, smiling to herself. Any thoughts of Squall had left her mind by now, and she was just happy to see her friends again. She felt at peace.

---------------------------------------------------

The night had cooled off considerably by the time it was time to be heading off to sleep. The wind cool rather than warm and stuffy, and the night sky had few clouds in it. Rinoa stood on the small balcony off of the room she stayed in, dressed in the same spare pajamas that Quistis had loaned her a few months ago. They were a little looser than they should have been since Quistis was taller than her. Behind her in the house, she could hear the distant sounds of Selphie playfully arguing with Seifer about something, and Quistis trying to break it up before Seifer actually took offense, or just got tired of hearing her talk. They were all friends, true, but Seifer and Selphie had always managed to know just what to say to really get on each other's nerves. She could hear the arguing coming closer and tried to block it out, but she could still hear some of the words being said.

"..just because you feel that way about someone doesn't mean I ha...." she could hear the forced-calm voice of Seifer saying.

"...Oh come on! How long have we known each other? How long have you wan-" she could hear Selphie saying exasperatedly.

"Selphie, I think you should stop." Quistis said. That, Rinoa could hear very clearly. They were in the upstairs hallway by then, and she could hear a tense silence. That shouldn't have been the case...they were all in the same house, all happy to see each other again, why would the silly argument turn into something with tension?

Rinoa walked back into the room and across to the door and opened it, walking out and looking down the hallway. Quistis had her arms folded and was watching Selphie. Selphie had her eyes narrowed at Seifer, and Seifer was staring ahead, obviously refusing to look at either of them. "...Is everyone okay?" Rinoa asked tentatively, trying to sound happy. All three sets of eyes darted to her at once and she froze. The only times that had ever happened before were when she was either about to be ganged up on in some manner, or when she had interrupted an important conversation. Quistis put a smile on and unfolded her arms.

"Of couse not. Just Selphie being...Selphie." Quistis answered, always the calm one. Rinoa was puzzled but at the same time she understood perfectly. Seifer turned, saying that he was going to bed, and Selphie just shrugged and followed him, grinning and waving 'bye' before she left. They were both staying in the attic since that was the only place left with things to sleep on. Quistis did much the same, bidding everyone a good night before going to her room.

Left with no other option, Rinoa returned to her room and climbed into her bed. _I guess some things never change._ she thought as she stared out of the window from her bed. She smiled as she saw a shooting star go by, something rare in this part of the world and even rarer to be able to see it with the lights from the city. Closing her eyes, she made a wish before trying to sleep.

Somewhere in the woods, the reluctant thief named Squall was looking at the same star, his mind lost in thought as he contemplated that strange girl who always gave him money.


End file.
